World Cup 2018: 5 reasons Croatia could win in Russia

#3 An experienced squad

Croatia has an experienced squad who are capable of dealing with pressure

Croatia has an experienced squad in comparison to other teams, with an average squad age of 28, and average caps at 40. Comparatively, their semi-final opponents England have an average squad age of 26, and average caps at 20 appearances.

This experience is sure to help Croatia, as most, if not all members of the squad are proven to perform consistently at a high level, even under pressure, barring a few exceptions such as Marko Pjaca, who is still 22 and a developing talent, albeit for Italian champions Juventus.

The most prominent examples of this antecedent experience is in the midfield, which is primarily occupied by Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, and Marcelo Brozovic. Both Modric and Rakitic have been starters for arguably the two biggest clubs in the world, in Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, their respective clubs for four seasons now. Brozovic has been a regular for Italian giants Internazionale and has racked up over a hundred caps in his three years at the club.

From the aforementioned players, both Ivan Rakitic and Marcelo Brozovic are arguably at their peak, at the ripe age of 30 and 29 respectively, as shown by the consistency they both have shown in the tournament.

On the bench (for the midfield) are Real Madrid super-sub Mateo Kovacic, Fiorentina captain Milan Badelj, and Vedran Corluka, who has over 100 caps for Croatia. Even in attack and defence, Croatia has plenty of experience, with the likes of Juventus mainstay Mario Mandzukic and Inter Milan ace Ivan Perisic, and the long-standing partnership between Domagoj Vida and Dejan Lovren in the heart of defence. In between the sticks for Croatia is Danijel Subasic, who has played for Croatia since 2009, and has over 50 caps in his international career.

This shows the amount of sheer experience Croatia has, which could easily be used to outsmart the other, more youthful teams in the semi-finals.